12 behind-the-scenes blowups

American History X

American History X

American History X (Tony Kaye vs New Line Cinema and Edward Norton)

Despite the iconic status it has now achieved, blistering racism drama American History X stands as a cautionary tale for all first-time directors. Tony Kaye spent much of the production process wrestling with New Line Cinema for artistic control, but the studio insisted on making several changes to his first cut.

So far, so familiar, but Kaye - who had never directed a feature before - took out 35 full-page ads in the trade press denouncing his producers and his star, Edward Norton, who had stepped in as editor after Kaye's second cut. Kaye disowned the final cut, and tried unsuccessfully to have his name removed from the credits in favour of the pseudonym 'Humpty Dumpty'.

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown (Faye Dunaway vs Roman Polanski)

You know an argument's got out of hand when cups of bodily fluid are being thrown. If Hollywood legend is to be believed, that's exactly what happened on the set of Chinatown, when the ugly feud between Faye Dunaway and director Roman Polanski came to a head.

The pair had been at loggerheads for several weeks leading up to this crowning moment. Asked by Dunaway for guidance on her character, Polanski reportedly snapped back: "Say the f**king words, your salary is your motivation." The final straw came when Polanski refused to let Dunaway take a bathroom break during the shooting of a car scene, and in response she threw a cup full of urine in his face.

American History X

American History X (Tony Kaye vs New Line Cinema and Edward Norton)

Despite the iconic status it has now achieved, blistering racism drama American History X stands as a cautionary tale for all first-time directors. Tony Kaye spent much of the production process wrestling with New Line Cinema for artistic control, but the studio insisted on making several changes to his first cut.

So far, so familiar, but Kaye - who had never directed a feature before - took out 35 full-page ads in the trade press denouncing his producers and his star, Edward Norton, who had stepped in as editor after Kaye's second cut. Kaye disowned the final cut, and tried unsuccessfully to have his name removed from the credits in favour of the pseudonym 'Humpty Dumpty'.

Chinatown

Chinatown (Faye Dunaway vs Roman Polanski)

You know an argument's got out of hand when cups of bodily fluid are being thrown. If Hollywood legend is to be believed, that's exactly what happened on the set of Chinatown, when the ugly feud between Faye Dunaway and director Roman Polanski came to a head.

The pair had been at loggerheads for several weeks leading up to this crowning moment. Asked by Dunaway for guidance on her character, Polanski reportedly snapped back: "Say the f**king words, your salary is your motivation." The final straw came when Polanski refused to let Dunaway take a bathroom break during the shooting of a car scene, and in response she threw a cup full of urine in his face.

Three Kings

Three Kings (David O Russell vs George Clooney)

It's relatively rare that an on-set spat will descend into actual physical violence - metaphorical backstabbing and passive-aggressive badmouthing are generally the weapons of choice, but such was not the case for the infamously volatile David O Russell and his Three Kings star George Clooney in 1999.

Having had his budget cut and his shoot shortened by the studio, Russell's crew reportedly took the brunt of his frustration, which did not sit well with Clooney. After several incidents wherein Russell screamed at crew members, made his script supervisor cry and finally threw an extra to the ground, he came to physical blows with Clooney.

According to Clooney's version of events, he was trying to calm the director down and Russell initiated the physical fight, which led Russell to call him a "lying-ass bitch.'" Five years on, Clooney had this to say on the matter: ""Quite honestly, if he comes near me, I'll sock him right in the f**king mouth." No love lost here.

Cop Out

Cop Out (Kevin Smith vs Bruce Willis)

"He turned out to be the unhappiest, most bitter and meanest emo-bitch I ever met at any job I've held. And mind you, I worked at Domino's."

That's Kevin Smith describing his experience with Bruce Willis, who alongside Tracy Morgan headed up what is widely established as Smith's worst movie. Buddy cop comedy Cop Out would probably have been a flop regardless of the on-set dynamic, but Willis is noticeably on auto-pilot throughout and Smith described the experience of directing him as "soul-crushing".

Smith's immature response to the well-deserved critical bashing Cop Out received should make it hard to take his side on this one, but just about everything we've ever heard about Willis makes it even harder to take his.

The Shining

The Shining (Stanley Kubrick vs Shelley Duvall and Scatman Crothers)

Somewhat ironically given the role he plays in Kubrick's iconic Stephen King adaptation, Jack Nicholson was the only actor who managed to keep a cool head on set. Nicholson's approach was apparently to roll with Kubrick's temperamental punches, and not to get too attached to his lines in advance because they would, inevitably, be rewritten during shooting.

As anyone who has watched the revealing Making Of documentary (shot by Kubrick's daughter Vivian) will know, Shelley Duvall was the main casualty here. Apparently keen to ensure that Duvall's portrayal of the increasingly terrorised and isolated Wendy felt authentic, Kubrick regularly lost his temper with her, verbally abused her, and instructed the crew not to show her any warmth or sympathy. Duvall reportedly became physically ill and began losing her hair in response to the stress, and she has since described the experience of working with Kubrick as "excruciating, almost unbearable".

Meanwhile Scatman Crothers, who played the jovial but ill-fated chef Dick Hallorann, famously broke down in tears during a scene that ultimately required 170 takes, pleading: "What do you want, Mr Kubrick?" The scene still holds the record for the most takes ever recorded for a single shot, making David Fincher's infamous perfectionism look reasonable by comparison.

Transformers 2

Transformers 2 (Michael Bay vs Megan Fox)

The old rule of not biting the hand that feeds keeps plenty of stars' lips sealed when they're asked for behind-the-scenes dirt. But Megan Fox, whose big break came as the female lead in Bay's first two Transformers movies, had no qualms about speaking her mind when she was asked about working with the action maestro.

"God, I really wish I could go loose on this one," she responded, before giving an answer that can only leave you wondering what her "loose" answer would have been: in brief, she likened Bay to Hitler and Napoleon in the space of a few sentences. The nicest thing she had to say was that the director's utter lack of social skills made him somewhat endearing, if "hopelessly awkward" off set. Ouch. Her remarks led producer Steven Spielberg to demand that Bay fire her, which he duly did, replacing her with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for third film Dark of the Moon.

But unusually, this pair appear to have buried the hatchet, with Bay casting Fox in his upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake and Fox doing some speedy damage control, gushing: "I've always loved Michael... sometimes we clash because we both have very wilful, powerful personalities." Another win for the spin machine.

Alien 3

Alien 3 (David Fincher vs 20th Century Fox)

A first-time feature director being handed a $50 million blockbuster is a risky prospect in itself, but factor in an unfinished script and less than five weeks of prep time, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Fincher, then known only for music videos and commercials, was hired at the eleventh hour after the original director Vincent Ward departed over "creative differences".

The script, which had already been through several drastic revisions as the budgetary leash became tighter and tighter, was still not finished by the time Fincher began shooting. He locked horns with Fox over everything from plot details to logistics throughout production, but as a first-timer he had less than no influence – at various points the studio cut down the shooting time by 23 days, told Fincher to film around the still-vast gaps in the script, and fired legendary Blade Runner DP Jordan Cronenweth.

Finally, Fox exec Jon Landau shut down production after 93 days, ordering Fincher to return to LA, cut together what footage he had, then see what reshoots were needed. To this day, Alien 3 remains one of the most iconic examples of what studio interference does at its worst.

"Ridley [Scott] asked me how it was going," Fincher later recalled. "And I said, 'Really bad,' and he said, 'It never goes well, this is not the way to make movies. Make sure you make a little film where you have some control while they're beating you up.'"

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Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation (Christian Bale vs Shane Hurlbut)

There are several reasons why Christian Bale's now-legendary 2008 rant at director of photography Shane Hurlbut stands out in this list. First of all, it is to our knowledge the only on-set dust-up to have produced a genuinely iconic and dance-worthy viral remix. Put it on your gym playlist - you won't regret it.

The other, less entertaining reason why Bale's meltdown is memorable is that it's a rare example of an actor targeting somebody lower down the power totem. Directors and even writers are fair game, but (as Clooney told Russell on Three Kings), you can't publicly abuse the little people and expect to get away with it. Particularly when, by all accounts, Hurlbut's only crime was to walk into Bale's eyeline in order to check a light, aka do his job.

To his credit, Bale wasted no time in issuing a public mea culpa - "I was out of order beyond belief, and I make no excuses for it" - although his explanation that he was just too deeply in character as John Connor might not fly for anyone who has seen the underwhelming final product. Somehow, we feel like the unsung villain of this piece is director McG, whose buck-passing can be briefly heard on the leaked audio. "I didn't see it happen," he mumbles, in response to Bale calling for his input. Way to take charge of your set and look out for your crew, McG.

12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen vs John Ridley)

This year's Best Picture winner managed to stay controversy-free for longer than most of its fellow awards contenders, but in March The Wrap published a report alleging bad blood between director Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley.

So the story goes, Ridley turned down McQueen's request for a co-screenwriting credit at the pre-production stage, sparking a bitter feud that culminated in McQueen's noticeably half-hearted applause for Ridley's win at the Oscars. On the same night, Ridley omitted McQueen from his acceptance speech, and McQueen returned the favour.

For what it's worth, Ridley has denied any beef with McQueen, chalking his failure to thank the director up to nerves and time restraints. But re-watching the Oscars footage, it's impossible not to notice the mutual lack of acknowledgement between the pair, in contrast to the general mood of elation. There's no smoke without fire, and no sarcastic seal clapping without good reason.

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Brazil

Brazil (Terry Gilliam vs Universal Pictures)

Another infamous case of a studio sticking their oar in too far was Terry Gilliam's Orwellian sci-fi nightmare Brazil, which originally ended on a very dark twist as Sam's (Jonathan Pryce) happily-ever-after ending is revealed as a catatonic delusion.

Universal asked Gilliam to edit out this rug-pulling reveal to create a genuine happy ending, having apparently found that this downbeat climax didn't play well with test audiences, but Gilliam fought hard for his original vision. After months of delays in which the studio assigned its own in-house team to re-edit the film for the US market, Gilliam wrote a dramatically worded letter to Universal head honcho Sid Sheinberg, likening his treatment of the film to a torturer's treatment of his victim.

"Please let me know how much longer must I endure before the bleeding stops," Gilliam concluded. Soon after, he took out a full-page ad in Variety simply asking: "When are you going to release my film?"

But even unreleased, Gilliam's cut of Brazil was a force to be reckoned with, and after it was given a trio of awards by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Universal was finally forced to back down and release it. Creative: one. Suits: nil.